Axisymmetric pulsar magnetosphere revisited

TL;DR

This paper presents a high-resolution kinetic plasma simulation of an axisymmetric pulsar magnetosphere with self-consistent pair production, revealing detailed structures and dynamics of the current sheet, Y-point, and gamma-ray emission regions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel high-resolution particle-in-cell simulation of pulsar magnetospheres with self-consistent pair creation, providing new insights into current sheet dynamics and emission zones.

Findings

Energy release and pair creation are concentrated in the Y-shaped current sheet.

The Y-point is shifted inward from the light cylinder and exhibits super-rotation.

Gamma-ray emission peaks at the Y-point and is collimated azimuthally.

Abstract

We present a global kinetic plasma simulation of an axisymmetric pulsar magnetosphere with self-consistent $e^\pm$ pair production. We use the particle-in-cell method and log-spherical coordinates with a grid size $4096\times 4096$. This allows us to achieve a high voltage induced by the pulsar rotation and investigate pair creation in a young pulsar far from the death line. We find the following. (1) The energy release and $e^\pm$ creation are strongly concentrated in the thin, Y-shaped current sheet, with a peak localized in a small volume at the Y-point. (2) The Y-point is shifted inward from the light cylinder by $\sim 15\%$, and "breathes" with a small amplitude. (3) The dense $e^\pm$ cloud at the Y-point is in ultra-relativistic rotation, which we call super-rotation, because it exceeds co-rotation with the star. The cloud receives angular momentum flowing from the star along the poloidal magnetic lines. (4) Gamma-ray emission peaks at the Y-point and is collimated in the azimuthal direction, tangent to the Y-point circle. (5) The separatrix current sheet between the closed magnetosphere and the open magnetic field lines is sustained by the electron backflow from the Y-point cloud. Its thickness is self-regulated to marginal charge starvation. (6) Only a small fraction of dissipation occurs in the separatrix inward of the Y-point. A much higher power is released in the equatorial plane, especially at the Y-point where the created dense $e^\pm$ plasma is spun up and intermittently ejected through the nozzle between the two open magnetic fluxes.